Well mechanism



Patented Nov. M, 1922,;

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I- J; A. WINTBOATH. WELL MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29, 1921,

Patented. NW. 14, 1922;. v

2 SHEETS sHEn 2.

Patented Nov. 14f, 1922.-

=NWE' eras ,eieeaw team caries.

'JOHNYA. WINIROATH,'OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR '10 AYNE. & BOWLER CORPORATION, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

I WELL MEoHANrsM.

Application filed August 29, 1921. Serial No. 496,37.

dent of Memphis, 'inthe-county of Shelby aniState of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Well Mechanisms, of which the following is'a specification,

,This invent on relates to well mechanisms and is particularly directed .to mechanism associated with-a deep well centrifugal pump having a relatively high speed rotary drive shaftoperating in a-bo'dy of lubricat-j skilled in the art that detailed illustration ing fluid within a shaft enclosing tubing. I

The object of the invention is to provide, in a well mechanism of theabove'character, a stufiing-box for the drive shaftin which a hydraulic medium under pressure -counterbalances the pressure of the lubricating fluid and functions toprevent anescape of the fluid from the shaft enclosing tubing.

Another object isto provide a stuffing-box in which the hydraulic medium is taken from the pump discharge and in whicli'the hydraulic medium is filtered or strained before use in the stuffing box.

Another object is to provide a stufling-box having a hydraulic packing medium functioning'to maintain' a low frictionaltern be more .fully apparent from the following description of'the accompanying drawings which .form a part of this disclosure, and

which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the upper portion of the well mechanism;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section on line 410 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is'a-section slmilar to Figure 1,

' showing a modifiedform of mechanism; and

Figure dis an enlarged detail section on line "w -m of Figure 3. v

The class of well mechanismherein referred to is of the standard centrifugal or turbine type such as" is usually employed in deep wells, and in -wlhich a discharge head at the surface of the well dependingly packing would gript supports a pump discharge tubing ext-end ing' down into the well with a centrifugal pump attached to the lower end of the discharge tubing. The drive shaft of the pump .is enclosed within a shaft tubing which is filled with abody of lubricating fluid ,'pref-- erably oil, to lubricate the several shaft bearings, and the pump and the shaft extend through a suitable stuffing-box in the discharge head to be connected with any suitable source of power.

This general arrangement-of well mechanism'is at this time so well known to those and description of the. entire mechanism would herein be superfluous, and for this I'eason'Iha've only shown such portion thereof depth. of the-well or the height to which the water is pumped.

Under such conditions the packing of the highlspeed drive shaft against leakage of the oil from within .the shaft tubing has heretofore been impossible for the reason that in providingqa packing which would be. tight enough to old the oil, under its relatively high pressure against leakage said he shaft so tightly that the frictional heat generated by the. high speed shaft would burn the packing outand the power absorbed thereby would be prohibitive:

Throughout an extended series of expertments I have made elaborate and prolonged tests ofvarious forms of packings and stuffing boxes and these testsdemonstrated that 1' with the ordinary methods and means of packing the shaft .it was necessary to permit the packing to leak a sufficient amount of oil to lubricate the shaft and to keep the frictional heat down to a point of safety.

To control. such leakage required constant attention, as in some cases it'would vary severalhundred per cent in a few minutes,

and aside from the functional results oh- I discharge tubing the two chambers.

that I am the first to provide a packing of this character which will efliciently perform the functions requiredin a well mechanism of the character herein referred to.

I In the drawings I have shown a standard form of discharge head 1 adapted'to be supported upon a. suitable base at the top of the well, and the top portion of the pump 2- which is dependingly supported by the head and is in communication therewith. The tubing .2 extends downwardly into the well and is connected at its lower end to a centrifugal pump (not shown) of the type usually employed in such-well mechanisms. The pump shaft 3 extends through a stufling box 1n the discharge head and is driven by a power unit supported on the head or is connected to any suitable source of power. The shaft 3 is enclosed within a shaft tubing at which is filled with a body of lubricating oil which lubricates the several'shaft bearings and the pump. I

The stufiing box 5 is preferably a detachable unit which extends downwardly through an opening in the top wall of the discharge head and has a screw-threaded lower end to which the shaft tubing t is joined. A bushing 6 in the lower end of the stuffing box member provides a bearing for the shaft andextending from said bushing upwardly to the top of the box is aduct 7 communicating by pipe 8 with a means 9 for replenishing thesupply of oil'in the shaft tubing. At the base of the packing chamber, I providean absorbent packing 10 and resting upon said packing is an annular cage member 11, said member being made l-l-shaped in cross section, providing an outer annular chamber 12 and an inner annular chamber 13 with the intermediate wall provided with transverse apertures 14 affording communication between A packing 15 in the packing chamber above the cage member 11 is'properly compressed by a packing gland 16 and the body of the stuffing box has a duct 17 which communicates with the annular chamber 12 and extends upwardly to the top of the box. The cage member 11 fits within the stuffing box chamber with sufficient freedom to afford fluid communication between the two packings. I I provide connections for directing water from the pump discharge to the water duct 17 of the stuffing box, first passing such water through a means for removing, any entrained sand or grit therefrom. One

form of such means consists of a filtering chamber 19 which is in communication with equal to the pressure of the oil.

the discharge pipe 20of the head 1 through an inlet nipple 21 extended above the bottom wall of the chamber so'that sediment settling in the-bottom thereof will not clog the nipple opening. The chamber is provided with a drain valve 22 permitting a removal of such sediment as collects in the chamber and near the top of the chamber is a screen 23 preventing any sand or other foreign substances entering the chamber discharge pipe 18. v

In operation the oil within the shaft tubing 4 is forcedupwardly'into the packing chamber of the stufiing box 5 and water from the pump discharge is entrained into the packing chamber between the 'packings 10 and 15 under a pressure substantially Under these conditions the oil and water come in contact within the lower packing 10 with a.

perfect counter-balancing effect whereby an equilibrium of the two fluids is effected and the packing relieved of compression stress.

For this reason the packing 10 acts as -a barrier through which there is no tendency for the oil to flow, due 'to counter-balancing pressure of the water from above.

Amplifying the above in simple language,-

only tendency of the oil to flow over into the.

water or the water to flow. over into the oil would be due to slight differencesin the specific gravity of the two fluids, which in this case is negligible.

With this form of forms an effective barrier to the escape of the oil, it is possible to maintain the upper packing only at a suflicient tightness to prevent a free escape of the water and asit is in some instances desirable to allow a cerlower packing which tain degree of escape of the water to provide a circulation'thereof through the upper packing for cooling purposes, it will be evident that such escape can be permittedwithout destroying the barrier effect ofthe lower packing. This circulation through the upper packing is permitted where the speed of the shaft is such as would create sufficient frictional heat to burn out the packing in the absence of said circulating water, and as the water permitted to escape in this manner isof negligible value the economical efficiency of the packing is not effected thereby. 1

With this structure I have provided a hydraulic packing in which the packing function is effected by the opposed immiscible fluids under counter-balancing .pressures maintaining them in a state of equilibrium.

In-the structure shown in Figures 3 and 4:, I employ the same form of packing boxas that previously described, excepting that in place of the water duct 17'- I provide an aperture 25 in the side wall of the box 5 and encircle the box at this pointwith a screen 26 to prevent dirt, sand or other foreign substances entering the stufling box, I

Inthis form of structure the chamber 19 and associated parts shown in'Figuresl and.

2 are eliminated and the water entersthe packing chamber directly from the discharge head 1.

While the mechanism here shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that I do not wish to confine the invention to the specific. structure herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various iorms, all coming within the scopeof theiclaims which follow.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with-a shaft tubing containing oil under pressure, and a rotary shaft therein, of a stuffing-box through which the shaft extends and which has an annular packing chamber around-the shaft,

' a packing in said chamber, and means di recting an immiscible fluid to said packing under an equalizing pressure to prevent an escape of the oil.

2, In combination with a shaft tubing containingoil under pressure, and a rotar .shaft therein, of a stufiing-box ,throug which the shaft extends and which has an annular packing chamber around the shaft, a packing in the inner end of the chamber,

'asecond packing in the outer end of the chamber, a packing gland engaging the second packing, and means directing an immiscible fluid between the two "packings under an equalizing pressure to prevent an' escape of the oil.

3. In combination with a shaft tubing containing oil underpressure, and a rotary shaft therein, .of a stuffing-box through which the shaft extends and which has an annular packing chamber around the shaft, a packing in the inner end of'said chamber, a second packing in theouter end of said chamber, a packing gland engaging the second packing, a cage member intermediate the two packings, and means directing an immiscible fluid to the cage member under an equalizing pressure to prevent an escape of the oil.

A. In a well mechanism, the combination with a pump discharge and a shaft enclosing tubing containing relatively immiscible within the packing chamber, and means conducting fluid from the pump discharge to the packing toprevent an escape of the fluid within the tubing.

5. In a well mechanism, the combination, with a pump discharge conveying water under pressure, a shaft enclosing tubin containing oil under a substantially equaI pressure, and a rotary shaft within the tubing,

7 pressure, and'a rotary shaft within the tubing, of a stuffing-box through which the shaft extends and which has an annular packing chamber around the shaft, a duct communicating withthe chamber, a packing in the chamber inwardly'of the duct,

a cage member in the chamber adjacent the duct, asecond packing'in the chamber outwardl'y of the cage member, a packing gland an escape of the oilv a engaging the outer packing, and means conducting water from the pump discharge to the duct and packing chamber to prevent 7, In .a well mechanism, with a pump discharge conveying water under pressure, a shaft enclosing tubing containing oil under a substantially equal pressure, and ajrotary shaft within the'tubing, of a stuffing-box through which the shaft extends and which has'an annular packingchamber around the shaft, a packing in the inner end of said chamber, a packing in the outer end of said chamber, a packing gland .engagingthe outer packing, means conducting water from the pump dischargerto the packing chamber between the two packings to prevent passage of the oil through the packing chamber, and means screening the waterbefore it enters the packing chamber.

8. In a well mechanism, the combination with a pump discharge conveying water under pressure, a shaft enclosing tubing containing oil under a substantially equal pressure, and a rotary shaft within the tubing, of a stuiHng-box through-which theshaft extends and which has an annular Packing fluids under substantially equal pressures, 5

of a stuffing-box connected to the tubingand providing a packing chamber, a rotary shaft within the tubing and extended-through the stuffing-box, a packing around the shaft chamber around the shaft, a duct communieating with the-chamber, a packing in the chamber inwardly of the duct, acage member in the chamber adjacent the duct, a second packing in the chamber outwardly of the cage member, a packing gland engaging the outer packing, means conducting the combination .jiac

water from the pump discharge to the duct and packing chamber to prevent an escape of-the oil, and means screening the Water before'it enters'the' duct.

9. In combination with a. shaft tubing.

containing a lubricating fluid under pressure and a rotary shaft therein, of a stufl'- ing-box through which theshaft extends a and hichhas an annular packing chamher around the shaft, a packing in said chamber, and means directing an immiscible fluid to the packing under an equalizing pressure to preventthe escape of the fluid fromthe shaft tubing, V

10. In combination with a shaft tubing equalizing dpressure effecting an equilibrium s Within the packing. 1 11. In well mechanism, the combination with a shaft tubing containing a lubricating fluid and a rotary shaft therein, of a stuflin'g-box through which the shaft extends and Which has an annular packing cham-' her around the shaft, a packing in said chamber, and means directing a fluid to the packing under ressure to pre'ventthe escape of the lubr cating fluid from'the shaft tubing. Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 20th day of August, 1921. i v,

JOHN A. WINTROATH.

" lVitness es I LEoNA1m S..LYON, L. BELLE WEAVER.

immiscible fluid to-the packing under 1 

